Food security

Migori Governor Okoth Obado has appealed to the national government to distribute relief food to drought-stricken parts of the county. He said most residents in Nyatike constituency face severe hunger as a result of the long dry spell. “Nyatike is a semi-arid area and crop production has declined. It is our appeal to the national government to also remember our people here as it distributes relief food to other parts of the country,” Obado said on Saturday.

Governors have asked the state to include counties ravaged by floods and the desert locust invasion in the national government's plan for economic recovery.

Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya said he will meet President Uhuru Kenyatta on behalf of the affected counties.

The government is currently looking into how to restore the economy after the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

As countries around the world grapple with COVID-19, they face unprecedented challenges in relation to the effects of the pandemic on food supply chains, food safety and food and nutrition security in general. This is especially so for Africa with its underlying challenges of poverty, inequality, underdevelopment, conflicts and adverse impacts of climate change that have generally been detrimental to the achievement of food security and the realisation of the right to food.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to exacerbate an already alarming food insecurity situation. Before the emergence of the pandemic, food insecurity was already on the rise in the region due to factors such as climatic shocks and livestock pests and diseases. The desert locust outbreak added to the already growing concerns.